YOUR OWN SPECIAL WORK

"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does it's own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 4:16, NLT
Everyone has days when they feel unimportant, like they don't have anything special to offer.
I know I have had more than my share of days feeling like that.
When I am tempted to feel that way, though, there is a four word phrase in the verse above particularly important to grasp.
"...it's own special work..."
This phrase makes it clear that as a treasured creation of the Lord, you are created with a purpose - and not just any purpose, but a special purpose that is unique to you, that makes you a crucial part of the body of Christ.
This is the part where it's tempting to look at our own skill set and still feel as though there we are replaceable or interchangeable parts. "There are others that can do what I do, and they can do it better than I can," you might grouse.
While that might be true, this verse, and at so many other places in Scripture it is clear that there is no other you. There is no other person living who possesses your unique combination of skills, talents, hopes and dreams in the measure to which God has given them to you alone.
The Psalmist writes, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it!...How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!" (Ps. 139:14, 17)
It is God who created you, and it is God who gives you your own exclusive place in the body. And that part is essential to healthy function of the body as a whole.
You have a role to play, whether that role lifting up a brother or sister with encouraging words, mowing the lawns, or changing light bulbs. Everything you do to bring life to the body is essential, just as every part of your body is essential to it's healthy function.
So, if you are struggling today with where you fit in, I pray you will begin today by at least grasping this truth - you are a rare jewel in the kingdom, and your part in it matters, no matter how small you may feel like that is.
Hold on to that, and let the One who created you to be unique and special, grow you into your "own special work", too!

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